Home Again

 Home Again,

The light house at Angle Gate greeted us as we woke from our last night on The Island Princess. 

We had an almost uneventful trip home from LA to Abbotsford.

There was some concern about the weight of our suitcases. We each had the one large suitcase we arrived with but the contents had grown because of all of the shopping we did. So I expended my carry on to use all of it and not just the bottom half and then we opened up the small duffle bag that we brought for just that eventuality. 

We made out way the the bus for the Princess transfer and I was concerned that my big suitcase may be overweight since I had continued to stick one more thing into it. There was horrific traffic and  we wondered if we would make it to Lax in time. Worry was needless we made it in lots of time. When we were checking in the suitcases were both underweight and we got the plesant surprise offer to check in our carry on cases with no extra charge. Of course we jumped at that and so we only had our personal items to be concerned about.

The flight from LAX to Calgary was full and as usual planes give you very little space. By the time we arrived in Calgary all of me hurt. This plane did not seem to be pressurized properly and my ears felt it. I cannot remember my ears hurting like that.

We had a lot of craziness to go through re a customs declaration. It is automated now and instead of filling in a form before landing we had to make our was to a kiosk where we have to do computer stuff. Not ideal to say the list. The lines were so long. Much easier to just pass in a paper.

The plane from Calgary to Abbotsford was not full which meant more room to move around so I did not feel quite so stiff when we finally arrived.

Our neighbour Dave picked us up and delivered us safely to home. Our friend Janet had left us milk and scones and Joyce had sent us a roast chicken and lettuce but we ate neither before bed. We just fell into bed and were
asleep almost immediately.

I could not believe how much mail a person gets in 4 months.

WE missed the wonderful Princess beds, the sound of the ocean and we really miss being treated like royalty
. Cooking and cleaning will be a difficult adjustment.

Our garden was looking quite good in spite of us not being there to baby it. Perhaps it doesn't need us afterall.

That amazing adventure has come to an end. It was everything we hoped it would be. We saw so many things that we never imagined we would ever see, we made some new friends and have made so many unbelievable memories. We would go again if there was a different itinerary but I would not be interested in doing this one again, there are still so many places in this world that we have not yet seen.

In June of next year(2014) we plan to visit the Baltics and Norway. It will be a 28 day cruise and we have been to only one of the ports before. We still have so many more adventures to experience and places to explore..

A special thanks to all of you who have followed the blog and have made comments. You have been and still are appreciated

 

Coming to the End

 Our dream vacation is coming to an end.

When we began this I thought that 111 days was a very long time, so I cannot believe that the time has gone so very quickly. It is difficult to realize that this is day 109 and we have to begin packing

Last evening we received good bye gifts from Princess. One was a gift of an acrylic paper weight with the Island Princess and the words World cruise 2023 engraved inside. There was also a key chain with the Island Princess inside an acrylic shape. I know it is hard to describe so here is a photo of them.

That weight is very heavy so I am glad that we have decided to have another bag.

There was a gathering and a group photo taken before the Fort Lauderdale people disembarked and another taken at our get together the other night. We received copies of both photos as well. One is 8x10 and the other one is 11x16. We are in both oh them. I should say I am because Ken is missing from the small one.

Along with the gifts we received a very nice letter from Princess.

We are all packed and the suitcases have been picked up. We have to be in the waiting area at 7:40 am and our plane leaves at 12:50. We will be back in Abbotsford at 7:30 tomorrow evening if all goes as planned.

Puerto Vallarta

 Puerto Vallarta

In 1964 the esteemed director John Huston chose Puerto Vallarta as the location for his film Night of the Iguana, starring Richard Burton . he so fell in love with the exquisite area that he bought a property nearby.

Today that sleepy village's popular boardwalk by the beach is lined with shops, restaurants and artists selling their wares. Whether it is luxuriating on a private beach or the adrenaline rush of a zip line adventure that calls to you Puerto Vallarta's array of experiences is at your fingertips. The city has evolved so much but you still can luxuriate in the rich ambiance that Huston fell in love with so long ago.

We are docked in Puerto Vallarta. It is a beautiful sunny morning and the temperature is not bad, 31 C, but the saving grace is low humidity. Whenever we are in Mexico I am impressed with how beautiful it is. The cities are clean and modern with lots of green spaces, mountains and beaches. It is sad that there is so much poverty and the poor people have to try to find someplace else to live. They deserve to be able to stay home. I do know that the drug situation does not help. 

From the ship we have wonderful views of mountains and parks. Must not forget to mention that we can also see Walmart and Sam's Club and a huge shopping mall. It is amusing to see a sign on a large building promoting that there is a flea market and another sign saying Yes We Are Open. If time were on my side that is a place I would head to. I love flea markets. Ken is glad we will not have time.

The reason we will not have time is the fact that our excursion is to an all inclusive resort for 5 hours. It will provide us with everything... 2 pools, miles of beach, lounge chairs, drinks, and lunch. Julia and Ken are also going there so the 4 of us will have a grand day. We return at three and all aboard is at 4:30 so that does not leave enough time to walk there, shop and walk back. 

The excursion was everything they said it would be and the all inclusive really meant all inclusive, food, drink, loungers, boogie boards, everything and it was definitely a 5 star resort. We loved our day, these are just a few of the over 50 pictures I took.

We had a lot more photo opportunities on our return trip ( about a half hour) and of course the cruise terminal had shopping and I was able to get that last magnet of the trip. Although I will try for one of LA when we are at LAX on Thursday.

Last of tree decorations:

Here is the collection:( only magnets are here others not included)

We sat on the balcony and enjoyed the sun set as we sailed from our last port of this amazing adventure. 

Now to begin packing, we will be home the day after tomorrow.

Huatulco

 Huatulco, Mexico

Our stop for May 6th is at Huatulco, Mexico. 

When we were making our way into the port the captain told us of pods of porpoises or dolphins all around the ship. It was an amazing sight for sure . (Ken  says they were porpoise and I think they were dolphins .

We were surprised at how rough the entry was. There were light houses and rocky islands there. We were happy to know there was a pilot on board to help us get docked safely.

The air was overcast and it was already HOT at 7:00 am. Andy told us the temperature was supposed to be 97 F today . We were not impressed. We went to Horizon court for breakfast then returned to the cabin. I got ready to go ashore. My goal was to find a decoration for our tree.

Just after I disembarked one of the golf cart like transfer vehicles pulled up next to me. It was Julia and Ken. I joined them and the driver took us to the town square. It was already about 90 degrees so the ride was appreciated.

The square was lovely and there were many shops and restaurants and things to take pictures of .

I did manage to find something for our tree. 

I caught transport back to the ship. I was gone for less than an hour and that was all I could have taken. It was so hot and the humidity was so high it was like breathing in steam.

I got back early so there was time to go to trivia. I found 3 other people who wanted to play so we made up a team. We actually tied for the most correct answers and then won the tie breaker. The prize was a satin pouch that is perfect for protecting your sunglasses when they are in my purse.

From there on the day got exciting. I was about to get ready to go to the 4 o'clock trivia when the power went out. I mean all of the power. The captain came over the PA to announce that we had a problem and the technicians were working on it. To make a long story a bit shorter they did get things working and everyone cheered but within minutes it was off again. That meant no propulsion, no AC and no elevators. We were beginning to wonder who would be chosen to man the oars, lots of jokes about Ben Hur and the drums. The power was repaired and we went to dinner. At this time the ship is moving slowly and we were wondering when or if we would get to Puerto Vallarta. 

Last evening was a by invitation only party for the LA world cruisers. There was lots of food which we didn't need since we just finished dinner, and lots of alcohol. It was fun , people were laughing and visiting with their new friends but it was HOT. We managed to find a table that was between both pool decks and there was an amazing breeze which was appreciated. My naturally curly hair was a wreck between the humidity and the wind I could have had a starring roll in a horror movie.

There was some back up power but we seemed to be dead in the water. They took another group photo and of course I could not have looked worse. I am not anxious to see that photo. 

Because of the heat and humidity we retired to our cabin where it would be a little cooler. We wondered what we would find in the morning. Would we be moving a little and as a result having to miss our next port and just cripple on to LA? Would we be not moving at all? Would things be back to normal?

We woke through the night and were relieved to find the ship was moving at full speed. All is well this morning. HURRAY!!!! 

Here are some pictures I took at the party last evening.